French bulk wine prices jump by up to 65%
French bulk wine prices have jumped by up to 65% in the past three years, with white wines the most affected.
While white wines increased by 64.5% on average, rosé prices grew 39% and red wine prices rose by 20.5% between 2011 and 2014, according to figures from Murphy Wine Company.
The bulk broker says the combination of older stocks running out, especially for white and rosé wines, the late harvest in Languedoc-Rousillon (despite volumes there increasing to 13.5 million hl) and poor crops from Rhône, Loire, Beaujolais, Burgundy and the south west, have led to a slow-down on the bulk market for the 2013-14 campaign, with prices reaching historically high levels.
Looking at the firm's latest pricing chart, which uses a traffic light system to highlight a wine's availability, French wines are highlighted in red while other countries are mostly all green.
Overall French volumes are up 7% to 44 million hl from 41 million hl in 2012. But looking back to 2012, the harvest was actually down by 16.8% on 2011 at 40.7 million hl, showing that 2013's harvest is still small if taken as an average over the last five years.
At the beginning of August 2013, producers stocks hit their lowest levels since 2001, particularly of white and rosé, according to data from FranceAgriMer.
Chart showing price increases for bulk French wine in the past three years (source: Murphy Wine Company)
| Red | Rosé | White | |
|---|---|---|---|
Year | €/hl | €/hl | €/hl |
2011-2012 | 55.78 | 52.01 | 46.79 |
2012-2013 | 60.01 | 62.99 | 64.83 |
2013-2014 (August to March) | 67.21 | 72.30 | 77.40 |
Increase over three years | +20.50% | +39% | +64.5% |
To see the latest information from Murphy Wine Company on wine prices and availability per variety from around the world, you must be a Harpers subscriber.
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